The Digital Frontier
Advancements in 20th century medicine reshaped society and made good health an expectation, not an exception. Now, 21st century breakthroughs may end disease, reverse aging, and restore sight and hearing — perhaps sooner than we think.
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The West needs more water. This Nobel winner may have the answer.
Paul Migrom has an Emmy, a Nobel, and a successful company. There’s one more big problem on the to-do list.
Police spend 40% of their time on paperwork. Can AI help?
Axon’s AI innovations promise to free officers from desks, but not without questions of ethics. CEO Rick Smith addresses concerns and community trust:
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Suckup software: How sycophancy threatens the future of AI
The biggest problem with AI right now might not be it defying humans but bending its answers to make us happy.
This startup is solving the biggest problem to creating drugs that work
Lab-grown human tissues could revolutionize drug development. This AI-powered robot can create and test 10,000 of them at once.
Supercomputer uses machine learning to set new speed record
Frontier, the ORNL supercomputer, used machine learning to set a new speed record of 9.95 quintillion calculations per second.
This global prize competition is launching small moonshots to save the planet
Prince William’s “Earthshot” strategy hopes to hedge humanity’s bet and tackle multiple environmental crises.
Study: chronic pain’s root cause could be a process in the brain
Understanding that chronic back pain originates from within the brain could lead to quicker recovery, a new study finds.
T-Minus: A river of stars, NASA’s next moon landing, and more
Freethink’s weekly countdown of the biggest space news, featuring a newly discovered stellar stream, NASA’s next moon mission, and more.
Neurosoft CEO says new brain implant is “basically 1,000 times softer” than anything on the market
Swiss startup Neurosoft’s flexible brain implant could give us a better way to analyze and stimulate the brain.
Bad sleep worsens pain. Researchers may have discovered why.
Inadequate sleep worsens pain, which makes it difficult to sleep. This cycle may stem from disruptions to the body’s endocannabinoid system.
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Hard Reset
Does Bryan Johnson’s $2m biohacking routine actually work? We tested it to see
18-hour fast, 100 pills, bizarre tech – we tried Bryan Johnson’s age-reversal routine for 1 month.
A new hydrogel offers the hope of ending daily injections for diabetes
Type-2 diabetes often involves an intense and exhausting treatment burden, with many injections over many days. That might be set to change.
A mineral produced by plate tectonics has a global cooling effect, study finds
Geologists have found that tectonic activity gives rise to smectite, a type of clay that can sequester a surprising amount of organic carbon.
Google’s new Gemini AI beats GPT-4 in 30 of 32 tests
Tech giant Google has unveiled the multimodal Gemini AI, its “largest and most capable” AI model ever released.
Zapping injured brains can improve cognition and memory
The lasting symptoms of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) can be treated with deep brain stimulation, according to a first-of-its kind trial.
NASA’s Webb telescope finds methane in far-off “warm Jupiter”
Astronomers have spotted methane — a molecule linked to the presence of life — in the atmosphere of a “warm Jupiter” exoplanet.
Move over, agony aunt: study finds ChatGPT gives better advice than professional columnists
Researcher found that people preferred the AI-generated responses over those given by a professional advice columnist, and couldn’t tell which was which.
Toshiba unveils new fast-charging, cobalt-free battery
Toshiba has developed a new kind of cobalt-free battery that could lead to cheaper, more sustainable EVs in the future.
Green shipping picks up speed
The shipping industry aims to get to net-zero emissions by 2050. Can novel fuels, wind power and coordination on a global scale get it there?
World’s largest robots will help airlines cut carbon emissions
Norwegian startup Avinxt is building massive AI robots to help airlines reduce their emissions, save water, and inspect their planes.
Lidocaine makes cancer cells self-destruct, study finds
Lidocaine, a common local anesthetic, activates proteins that cause certain types of cancer cells to self-destruct.
Technology expert tells us why the AI “doomer” narrative is all wrong
Alex Kantrowitz believes “doomerism” is born of our misplaced and exaggerated human propensity for fear. Plus, fear sells.
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